Department for Education

Students: Private Rented Housing

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure there is adequate support for students in private rented accommodation.

Robert Halfon: The department recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year and that have impacted students. Many higher education (HE) providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance. There is £261 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged students who need additional help. The department has worked with the Office for Students to ensure universities support students in hardship using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.Universities and private accommodation providers are autonomous and are responsible for setting their own rent agreements. The department plays no direct role in the provision of student residential accommodation, whether the accommodation is managed by universities or private sector organisations.All households will save on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount. The Energy Prices Act passed on 25 October includes the provision to require landlords to pass benefits they receive from energy price support, as appropriate, onto end users. Further details of the requirements under this act are set out in the legislation.Students whose bills are included in their rent, including energy charges, will typically have agreed their accommodation costs upfront when signing their contract for the current academic year. Businesses, including those that provide student accommodation, are covered by the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which provides energy bill relief for non-domestic customers in Great Britain.A HM Treasury-led review will be launched to consider how to support households and businesses with energy bills after April 2023.Decisions on student support for HE courses are taken on an annual basis and changes for the current, 2022/23 academic year, were made through Regulations laid in December 2021.The government is currently considering options for changes to loans and grants for living and other costs for the 2023/24 academic year starting in August 2023 and an announcement will follow in due course.

Students: Finance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November to Question 902446 on Students: Finance, when she plans to provide an update on an alternative student finance product for Muslim students.

Robert Halfon: I refer the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak to the answer given on the 25 July 2022 to Question 37600.

Students: Loans

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the impact on students of interest accruing on student loans during periods of deferral for medical reasons.

Robert Halfon: The system for setting interest rates on student loans is set out in The Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009, as amended. Interest is charged from the first payment of the student loan is made until the loan has been repaid in full or cancelled, with interest added to the principal balance each month. Interest will continue to accrue even if a student suspends or withdraws from their course, including for students deferring due to medical reasons. Borrowers will be liable to repay after leaving study only when earning over the relevant repayment threshold.Borrowers are protected. Repayments are calculated as a fixed percentage of earnings above the relevant repayment threshold. Repayments do not change as a result of the interest rate charged or the amount borrowed. If a borrower’s income drops, so does the amount they repay. Any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is written off after the loan term ends, or in case of death or disability, at no detriment to the borrower.To further protect borrowers, the government, by law, must cap maximum student loan rates to ensure the interest rate charged on the loan is in line with market rates for comparable unsecured personal loans. On 9 November 2022, the Student Loan Company (SLC) announced that the interest on Plan 2 and Plan 3 student loan repayments will be capped to 6.5 from 1 December 2022. Without this cap, student loan borrowers may have faced interest rates between 9 to 12%.From the 2023/24 academic year, student loan borrowers starting new courses will benefit from interest rates of RPI only. This change ensures that, under the new ‘Plan 5’ loan terms, new borrowers will not repay more than they originally borrowed, when adjusted for inflation.

Training: Leeds North West

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on improving skills training in Leeds North West constituency.

Robert Halfon: ​​The department regularly discusses skills matters with other government departments, including the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, but not specifically about individual constituencies.​The department is investing £3.8 billion more in further education (FE) and skills over the Parliament to ensure people across the country, including in Leeds, have access to the skills they need to build fulfilling careers in jobs the economy needs.​This additional funding will help a wide range of school sixth forms supporting young people, including providers such as Luminate Education Group in Yorkshire. In total we are funding over 18,000 16-to-18 year olds in 2022/23, including several school sixth form provisions based in the Leeds North West area.​​The local college curriculum offer includes a broad range of skills training and qualifications including T Levels, apprenticeships, an extensive range of qualifications from Entry Level to Higher Education, including higher technical qualifications, and adult education programmes. The provision is shaped in collaboration with local employers to ensure it meets local skills needs and focuses on meeting Leeds City Region LEP skills priorities.​​The department is also investing in local college estates through FE capital programmes to support estate condition improvement, increase college capacity to support more local people with skills training and qualifications, and T Level facilities with world class equipment.The department is supporting employers in all sectors and all areas of the country, including Leeds, to use apprenticeships to develop the skilled workforces they need. To support more employers and learners to access apprenticeships we are increasing funding for apprenticeships in England to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year. Since May 2010, there have been a total of 5,880 apprenticeship starts in Leeds North West.Residents in Leeds can access free Level 3 qualifications to improve their skills via the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, which enables adult learners without a level 3 qualification (or learners with any qualification level but earning below the National Living Wage) to gain a qualification for free.In addition, the department has also introduced Skills Bootcamps, which are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer.The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) at £1.34 billion in the 2022/23 academic year. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. Currently, approximately 60% of the AEB is devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs), including West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), which covers Leeds. This gives WYCA direct control over adult education provision for their residents and provides the local area with the opportunity to meet local needs.

Further Education: Expenditure

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2022 to Question 101099 on Further Education Expenditure, how much and what proportion of the £6.5 billion made available to 16-19 education has been spent in the 2022-23 academic year.

Robert Halfon: The department does not specifically track the spending by each institution against the allocated 16-19 budget. Colleges, school sixth forms and other providers can determine how and when to spend this funding in each academic year to best support their students.Details of the funding allocations by institution for 16-19 year olds (or up to 25 years with an education health and care plan) in the 2022/23 academic year can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-allocation-data-2022-to-2023-academic-year.

Higher Education: Fees and Charges

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2022 to Question 97671 on Higher Education: Fees and Charges, if she will publish the low value impact assessment she conducted before laying the Higher Education (Investigation Fees) (England) Regulations 2022.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2022 to Question 97671 on Higher Education: Fees and Charges, what estimate her Department has made of the low value impact assessment of the financial impact of the Higher Education (Investigation Fees) (England) Regulations 2022 on the sector to the nearest £10,000.

Robert Halfon: The government’s Better Regulation Framework sets out that where the impact of a measure is below the +/- £5 million Estimated Annual Net Direct Cost to Business threshold, ‘departments should undertake proportionate cost-benefit analysis to inform decision making’. The department’s process is one of self-certification in the form of a low value impact assessment. The department does not intend to publish this internal document.The Estimated Annual Net Direct Cost to Business is £1.8 million. This is based on an estimated average investigation cost of £75,000 and assumptions around the number of investigations with adverse findings per year. Actual costs will vary depending on factors such as investigation length, and whether an investigation features an on-site visit on not. The Office for Students (OfS) is currently implementing its investigations approach for the first time and expects to refine its understanding of costs as implementation progresses. The OfS is also required, under the regulations, to publish a statement about its approach to determining its costs for the purposes of calculating the amount of the fee. This will provide transparency and a degree of certainty for providers.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Somalia: Education and Health Services

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to provide support to (a) health and (b) education services in areas captured from al-Shabaab in Somalia.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK recognises the importance of stabilisation to security in Somalia and the region. We coordinate closely with international partners, the UN and the Somali Government to understand the needs of communities in areas recently recovered from al-Shabaab and to support stabilisation efforts. In November, I met the Somali Defence Minister and National Security Adviser and raised the need for robust planning to meet these needs during and after military operations. Our Early Recovery Initiative supports stabilisation efforts by funding Somali-led responses to priorities identified by communities, including water and protecting critical infrastructure such as bridges. However, due to significant Improvised Explosive Device contamination and the persistent threat of Al-Shabaab counter attacks, it is not feasible for humanitarian and development actors to provide more sustained health and education services in these areas at this time.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500, for what purpose (a) £1,800 was spent at The Corinthia Hotel on 21 March 2022, (b) £2,138.06 was spent at Stanley’s Chelsea on 28 June 2022, and (c) £622.69 was spent at The Waterfront Brasserie on 26 July 2022, and whether any of those events included any expenditure on alcoholic beverages.

David Rutley: Hospitality has long been an important part of building relations and diplomacy. The cost at the Corinthia related to a UK-hosted lunch during the inaugural meeting of the committee which oversees and governs implementation of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. The meeting was an opportunity to build relationships with key ministers and senior officials from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade.The event at Stanley's was part of the UK hosted "Mozambique in the UK week". The event helped progress £1 billion of exports and investments in energy, mining, renewables and telecom infrastructure.The Waterfront Brasserie event was hospitality provided to a high-level delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security visiting Police and the National Crime Agency (NCA).Expenditure was subject to normal FCDO controls and an appropriate use of public money.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 in September 2022, for what reason (a) £588.12 was spent at The Bar Room, New York City on 21 September 2021, and (b) £4,445.07 was spent at Smith &amp; Wollensky, New York City on 22 September 2021, and whether either of those events included any expenditure on alcoholic beverages.

David Rutley: The Smith and Wollensky expenditure relates to dinner for the Prime Minister and his delegation from No 10 visiting New York for the annual UN General Assembly. Dinner for 25 included alcohol (approximately 1 drink per person). The Bar Room expenditure relates to booking a dinner for the Press Lobby. The majority of this cost was recharged to the individual journalists at the end of the trip in the usual way. Expenditure was subject to normal FCDO controls and an appropriate use of public money.

East Africa: Food Supply

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment has he made of the potential impact on the hunger crisis in East Africa of the UK's contribution of £156 million to that cause.

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the amount of UK aid to East Africa to help tackle the hunger crisis in that region.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is a sizeable humanitarian donor to East Africa and remains committed to tackling the hunger crisis across the region. On the ground our support is providing millions of people with essential services and supplies including food, clean water, nutritional support and healthcare. We are committed to transparency with the public and predictability with our partners and we intend to provide an update on planned ODA allocations and humanitarian commitments this financial year in due course.

Government Hospitality: Wines

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the (a) most recent value and (b) change in value over the last 12 months of the Government Hospitality Wine Cellar.

David Rutley: The UK Government regularly hosts events to bring together stakeholders from across the country and around the world. The wine cellar is used by all government departments and is maintained to deliver events at a lower cost. The overall value of wines used was outlined in the Bi-Annual Report on the GH Wine Cellar, placed in the Library of the House.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-hospitality-wine-cellar-bi-annual-statement-2018-to-2020/government-hospitality-wine-cellar-bi-annual-report-2018-to-2020The value of wine stocks in financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22 will be published in the next Bi-Annual Report on the Government Hospitality Wine Cellar 2020-2022, to be published in early 2023.

Burkina Faso: Humanitarian Aid

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the capacity of (a) the UN and (b) other humanitarian agencies to provide emergency assistance by airlift to (i) internally displaced people and (ii) besieged areas in Burkina Faso.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Burkina Faso is facing the worst security and humanitarian crisis in its history. Almost 2 million people are displaced and around 2,000 people in enclaves in northern Burkina Faso are at risk of starvation. These isolated areas are unable to receive regular humanitarian supplies as the roads used to transport goods are no longer safe due to attacks by violent extremist organisations. The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) are planning airlifts to deliver urgent supplies for three months to enclaved areas beginning in January. Last year, the UK provided approximately £79 million in total to Burkina Faso to deliver aid, shelter, healthcare and education to those most in need, including £0.2 million to UNHAS.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Floods

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department has offered to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo following flooding in that country on 12 and 13 December 2022.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are closely monitoring the impacts of the floods in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic Congo (DRC), including the potential health impacts which have affected some of the poorer districts of the city. The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) met with the DRC Minister of Humanitarian Affairs to discuss the response to the floods. The UK participated in this meeting as one of the donor representatives of the HCT. Following the meeting the Government will work up a response plan to the floods. The UK along with donors encouraged the DRC Government to support the Congolese Red Cross and Caritas who have strong networks and are already assessing the situation, as part of their plan. The UN has issued an alert and requested a UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team to be deployed to support the response. The UK, as co-chair of the Good Humanitarian Donor Group, will continue to coordinate any support to the floods from the donor community in DRC. We will monitor any further potential flood risks, and continue to support the Government of DRC's response.

Burundi: Human Rights

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 September 2022 to Question 51559, following the UK Government’s monitoring of reports of human rights violations and abuses against political opposition and critical voices in Burundi, what assessment his Department has made of progress to (a) end (i) unlawful killings, (ii) enforced disappearances, (iii) torture, and (iv) other alleged human rights violations and abuses by state security forces in Burundi since 2015 and (b) progress to deliver accountability for these violations since 2015.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government welcomes the Government of Burundi's stated commitment to improving the human rights situation and the recent steps taken which demonstrate progress in this regard. We note reports of human rights violations and abuses being committed against the political opposition and critical voices, which we regularly discuss at a senior level with the Government of Burundi, most recently in September 2022 when our non-resident Ambassador to Burundi visited the country. We continue to call on the Government of Burundi to ensure that Burundi develops along a positive trajectory and look forward to Burundi's Universal Periodic Review in 2023. We urge the Government of Burundi to fully implement the recommendations made in the last review. Allowing the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to operate in Burundi would provide welcome scrutiny and help Burundi deliver on its commitment to ensure its people benefit from the full enjoyment of all human rights.

Africa: Armed Conflict

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taken to help strengthen accountability for child survivors of sexual violence in conflict in African countries.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Since 2012, the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) has supported efforts across Africa to strengthen accountability for conflict-related sexual violence. At the PSVI Conference, held in London on 28 and 29 November, the Foreign Secretary launched the new PSVI Strategy, prioritising justice for survivors, including children, and supported by up to £12.5 million of new funding. This includes £8.6 million for the Accountability Commission and Taskforce (ACT) for Survivors, to support national authorities globally to investigate, prosecute and deliver justice for all survivors. We will continue to work through the UN Security Council to address the impact of armed conflict on children.

Nigeria: Armed Forces

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he will take to support accountability over allegations of (a) the killing of child non-combatants during operations against jihadist armed groups by Nigerian armed forces and (b) coerced abortions by Nigerian armed forces; and whether the Government has supplied (i) training, (ii) equipment and (iii) other forms of support to units of the Nigerian armed forces which have been the subject of recent allegations relating to the killing of child non-combatants.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: As I set out in the House on Tuesday 13 December, keeping a close eye on these reports. We have raised the matter with the Nigerian Government and welcome calls from the Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff to launch an independent investigation by the National Human Rights Commission.UK armed forces conduct counter-insurgency training in Nigeria covering a range of matters such as infantry skills, human rights and combatting the threat of improvised explosive devices in order to help Nigeria counter shared threats, such as terrorism and serious organised crime. This has included support to Nigerian military units that are deployed in the North East.

São Tomé and Príncipe: Detainees

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in Sao Tome and Principe on the alleged incidents of torture and killing of detainees after 25 November 2022.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are actively seeking information from multilateral and unilateral representatives as well as the Government of São Tomé and Príncipe (STP), following reports of an attempted coup and alleged extra judicial killing of detainees in the country. We are working closely with bilateral and multilateral partners to determine how best to clarify the facts of the events and co-ordinate our response.

Eritrea: Tigray

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of Eritrean troops in Tigray the week of (a) 31 October 2022 and (b) 12 December 2022.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Although we have no estimation of the number of Eritrean troops in Tigray during these specific periods, or the number currently remaining, we reiterate our calls for Eritrean forces to leave. The November 2022 Pretoria and Nairobi peace agreements are contingent upon Eritrean troops pulling out of Tigray. Eritrea must not be a barrier to peace in northern Ethiopia or hinder humanitarian access going to those affected by the conflict.

Department of Health and Social Care

Pharmacy: Finance

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has provided to community pharmacies through the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework in real terms accounting for inflation in each year since 2016.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the impact of inflation on community pharmacies.

Will Quince: The following table shows real terms and nominal funding provided through the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework, accounting for inflation, in each year since 2015/16. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 commits £2.592 billion per year to community pharmacy. In addition, the agreement with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee for 2022/23 and 2023/24, announced on 22 September 2022, provides a non-recurrent additional investment of £100 million in these years. Community pharmacies also received funding for the provision of other services, including flu and COVID-19 vaccinations and services commissioned locally by NHS England and local authorities.  Nominal fundingNovember 2022 Gross Domestic Product deflatorReal terms funding2015/16£2.8 billion100.0£2.8 billion2016/17£2.687 billion102.1£2.633 billion2017/18£2.592 billion103.8£2.498 billion2018/19£2.592 billion105.6£2.454 billion2019/20£2.592 billion108.4£2.392 billion2020/21£2.592 billion115.3£2.248 billion2021/22£2.592 billion114.8£2.259 billion2022/23£2.592 billion120.3£2.154 billion

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the results of the evaluation into The Help Us Help You- Cervical Screening Saves Lives will be published, as referenced on page 94 of the Women’s Health Strategy.

Maria Caulfield: The Cervical Screening Saves Lives campaign concluded on 31 March 2022. The Cervical Screening Programme, England, has published the latest coverage and uptake data up to March 2022 and is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cervical-screening-annual/england-2021-2022The report is published annually and it is expected that data from April 2022 onwards will be available by the end of 2023. The responsibility for the Help Us Help You campaign has since transferred to NHS England and the Department do not currently have any plans to deliver any further cervical screening campaigns at this point.The evaluation for a previous Cervical Screening Saves Lives campaign delivered by Public Health England in 2019 is available at the following link:https://phescreening.blog.gov.uk/2021/09/28/cervical-screening-saves-lives/